In the Granite School District, things are desperate times five, or maybe more. And it is to the school board's and administration's credit that they see the writing on their surplus of walls and are making serious plans to do something about it.
The impressive amount of public input the board has already sought should be heeded as much as possible. Schools are dear to many people, and respect must be paid.
But the decisions, including those that may close Granite High School and elect not to rebuild the burned out Wasatch Junior High, must be based on numbers more than on emotion.
Those numbers are grim. Due to shifts in the Salt Lake Valley's population, some Granite schools are overcrowded while others are being expensively maintained for dwindling numbers of enrollees.
The board figures it has unused capacity scattered around the district that adds up to two whole elementary schools, two whole junior highs and two whole high schools. Keeping the equivalent of six empty schools open not only costs taxpayers millions, it also leaves students in situations where their school either has too few students to justify some modern educational opportunities or too many students to serve effectively.
Boundary shifts and busing are expensive, inconvenient and don't solve the long-term problem.
Thus the board will be considering, and seeking further public comment on, options that include merging the student bodies of Granite and Granger high schools into a newly built school. Also on the list for possible closure, depending on more research and the public comment process, are Evergreen and Granite Park junior highs and Morningside, Canyon Rim, Hill View, Meadow Moor, Woodstock and Millcreek elementaries.
Efficiency, of course, has its limits. Figuring that large, full schools provide education at the lowest unit cost, as the district's research does, goes against growing concerns that giant schools become so imposing and impersonal that too many students fall between the academic and emotional cracks.
With that caveat in mind, the Granite School District should go ahead, not with a heart of stone, but with a sharp mind.
